Inkjet vs. Laser Printers

If you need to buy a personal printer, you might want to compare the overall cost of printing with a black-and-white laser jet vs. a color inkjet printer over a 3-year period. Although inkjet printers are initially less expensive, laser printers offer a much better value over time because their toner cartridges are only slightly more expensive, but last much longer.

Use this worksheet to estimate the number of pages you plan to print per month. (e.g., 100 pages per month = 5 per day) to calculate what the printer will truly cost over time.

   

Inkjet Printer

Laser Printer
HP DeskJet 5650 HP LaserJet 1012c
Printer Retail Cost
  $130   $200
Toner (black)
  $20   $60
Toner (color)   $25   N/A
Total Toner Cost
  $45   $60
Output Pages Per Toner Set
  400   2200
Toner Cost per Page
0.11 0.03
Toner Cost per Year
(~100 pages/month
or 5 pages/day)

$132
(1200 x 0.11
= 132.00) 		$36
(1200 x 0.03
= 36.00)
1st-Year Cost
(printer + toner)
  $265
($132 + 3 toner sets
@ $45 = $265) 		  $236
[$200 + $36 (½ cartridge) = $236]
2nd-Year Cost
  $132   $36
3rd-Year Cost
  $132   $36
3-YEAR TOTAL COST $529 $308

Other Points to Consider:

  • An idle inkjet printer (not used for a week or more) often results in dried-up cartridges that must be replaced; laser printers are far more forgiving.
  • Laser cartridges are recyclable; ink jet cartridges are considered disposable.
  • If printing more than 300 pages per month, you should consider a heavy-duty business-class printer.
  • Most personal printers are not easily nor affordably serviced; replacement is often more cost-effective.

Tip:

To help you identify the type of printer you need, HP LaserJet printer models use single-letter abbreviations, such as "n" for network, "d" for duplexing (e.g., HP 4100n or 4100dn).